ERFAN History

MARCH 2017

Ten Veterinary Institutions from African countries (Algeria, Angola, Botswana, Morocco, Namibia, Tanzania, Tunisia, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe), as historical partners of IZSAM, meet in Teramo to share the results of scientific collaborations with the Institute and to define future research areas of common interest. With the support of the Directorate General for Animal Health and Veterinary Medicines of the Ministry of Health, IZSAM and the African partners create an international network, named ERFAN (Enhancing Research for Africa Network) aimed at stimulating scientific research in the fields of animal health and welfare, food safety and sustainable food production.

OCTOBER 2017

IZSAM and the African partners of the SADC (Southern African Development Community) Region, such as Angola, Botswana, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe, organize the first ERFAN Meeting in Pretoria. An opportunity to outline a four-year action plan to make the ERFAN Scientific Network operational. The Regional Representatives of the International Organizations such as SADC, European Union, OIE (World Animal Health Organization), FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations), AU-IBAR (African Bureau of Animal Resources), IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) and delegates of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and the veterinary institutions define the organizational and operational structure of ERFAN.

MAY 2018

The IZSAM, with the African partners of the AMU Region (Arab Maghreb Union), organizes the second ERFAN Meeting in Tunis. Veterinary institutions from Algeria, Libya, Morocco, Mauritania and Tunisia meet to strengthen scientific collaborations. The partners share the structure of ERFAN, as outlined during the first meeting. Supported by the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and the Regional Offices of the leading International Organizations (EU, OIE and FAO), the participants identify the Working Groups on scientific issues relevant to the regional context.

JUNE 2018

Four Italian Istituti Zooprofilattici Sperimentali (IZS del Mezzogiorno; IZS del Piemonte, Liguria e Valle d'Aosta; IZS di Puglia e Basilicata; IZS della Sicilia) are applying to join ERFAN, opening up new areas of research.

NOVEMBER 2018

At the University of Pretoria, South Africa, the 2nd International Meeting is held in the SADC Region (Southern African Development Community) organized by the IZSAM, supported by the World Animal Health Organization (OIE) and the IZS partners. The meeting brings together representatives of scientific institutions from 8 African countries discussing research and development in the field of veterinary science. Dr Silvio Borrello, Director General of Animal Health and Veterinary Medicines of the Ministry of Health, taking parts in the three days of the Pretoria Meeting, highlights the key role of the Network, as a valuable means of international collaboration, both from a political and technical-scientific point of view. Dr Romano Marabelli, Advisor to the Director-General of the OIE, formalizes the approval of ERFAN as an OIE project; the OIE will support ERFAN meetings for the next 4 years, until 2023.

SEPTEMBER 2019

The IZSAM, as the Secretariat of the ERFAN network, from 9 to 11 September organizes in Windhoek, Namibia, the first Meeting of the working groups in SADC Region. ERFAN is a scientific network established in Teramo in 2017 and based on 30 years of experience of IZSAM in research and cooperation projects in African countries. 29 veterinary institutions are part of ERFAN, 24 African and 5 Italian. The OIE believes in the scientific network and, in May 2019, supports the network four years with about 1.5 million euros.

64 participants coming from 13 African Institutions and 5 Italian Istituti Zooprofilattici come together in 6 working groups (WGs) in order to plan future actions aimed at improving research, diagnostic performance and scientific training on Food Hygiene, Animal Welfare and zoonotic diseases such as Bovine Tuberculosis, Brucellosis, Contagious Bovine Pleuropneumonia, Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies and Rift Valley Fever. At the end of the meeting, the action plans drafted by the WGs for two years (2019-2021) are presented, based on three pillars: the improvement of diagnostic performance through networking activities, training activities and technology and innovation transfer and regional research programmes.

NOVEMBER 2019

The IZSAM, as the Secretariat of the ERFAN network, from 5 to 7 November organizes in Tunis the second regional meeting named Enhancing scientific cooperation between Africa and Italy through the networking activities dedicated to the countries of North Africa. The ERFAN, founded by the OIE, is made up of 29 veterinary institutions (24 African, 5 Italian). The meeting in Tunis follows by two months the meeting in Namibia of the working groups of the SADC Region, with the same objective: to strengthen scientific cooperation in the veterinary field between Italy and Africa sharing information and expertise.   

45 participants attend the meeting in Tunis from veterinary institutions in Italy, Algeria, Libya, Morocco, Mauritania, Senegal and Tunisia. Delegates of the “Laboratoire Vétérinaire Central” and the “Institut Agronomique et Vétérinaire Hassan” of Rabat (Morocco), the “Centre National d'Élevage et Recherche Vétérinaire” of Nouakchott (Mauritania), the “Institut de la Recherche Vétérinaire” of Tunis (Tunisia), the “Laboratoire National d'Élevage et de Recherches Vétérinaires” of Dakar (Senegal) and the National Centre for Animal Health of Tripoli (Libya), the Veterinary Faculties of the “Université Saâd Dahlab de Blida” (Algeria), the University of Tripoli and the “Ecole Nationale de Médecine Vétérinaire “in Sidi Thabet (Tunisia), meet Italian colleagues from five Istituti Zooprofilattici Sperimentali.